conclude

Definition of conclude

concluded

concluding

transitive verb

2: to bring to an end especially in a particular way or with a particular action conclude a meeting

3a: to reach as a logically necessary end by reasoning : infer on the basis of evidence concluded that her argument was soundb: to make a decision about :decideconcluded he would wait a little longerc: to come to an agreement on :effectconclude a saleconcluded a peace treaty

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conclude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of conclude

Middle English, from Latin concludere to shut up, end, infer, from com- + claudere to shut — more at close

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of conclude

close, end, conclude, finish, complete, terminate mean to bring or come to a stopping point or limit. close usually implies that something has been in some way open as well as unfinished. close a debateend conveys a strong sense of finality. ended his lifeconclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting). the service concluded with a blessingfinish may stress completion of a final step in a process. after it is painted, the house will be finishedcomplete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken. the resolving of this last issue completes the agreementterminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space. your employment terminates after three months

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise. from that remark, I inferred that they knew each otherdeduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization. denied we could deduce anything important from human mortalityconclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning. concluded that only the accused could be guiltyjudge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based. judge people by their actionsgather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications. gathered their desire to be alone without a word

CONCLUDE Defined for Kids

conclude

Definition of conclude for Students

concluded

concluding

2: to decide after a period of thought or research I conclude that I was wrong.

3: to bring about as a result They would like to conclude an agreement on working together.

Word Root of conclude

The Latin word claudere, meaning “to close” or “to shut,” gives us the root clud. To exclude is to shut another out of a group. To include is to shut someone into a group. To conclude, or bring something, such as a speech, to an end, is to close it.